Fallen From Grace
by Jezzabelle
Summary: Ariadne was goddess of spring before a practical joke sent her falling to earth. There she meets and falls for James Potter, however he is in love with another girl, Lily Evans. But will his feelings change with the arrival of the beautiful goddess? JPOC
1. Prologue

The layer of cloud lay untouched, shifting slightly as was normal, until a foot decorated with an emerald anklet descended onto it. A tiny mini-cloud of fine white powder rose and spiraled into the air around this foot, until it rose again, leaving a footprint that was quickly covered by the surrounding cloud mass. A girl walked towards a huge silver doorway in the heavens, a girl of no more than seventeen, it would appear from first glance. But she was a goddess, goddess of spring, and was thus immortal. Her white linen dress was held in place at her right shoulder by a huge jade pin, a pin given to her by the god of luck. She needed all the luck she could get today, as it was her trial.

Her long, chocolate brown hair flicked slightly in the wind as she walked towards the door, shining in the reflected light. She squinted her dark emerald eyes against the light coming from the doorway, and raised a tan arm to shield them. She entered the room and her sight quickly adjusted, but she did not like what she saw.

Two men and a woman sat in three huge, ornate thrones opposite a plain wooden chair in the room. She recognized the gods immediately. They were the god of battle, the goddess of love, and the god of the seasons. The latter was her boss, and she looked at her feet in reaction to the disappointed look he gave her. She had always been good friends with him and it broke her heart that he was so angry with her. _It was just a joke,_ she reasoned with herself as she sat on the wooden chair and attempted a smile.

"Ariadne Evadine," said the god of battle in a huge, booming voice. "You are charged with the act of creating an extremely unseasonable weather force. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Um…" She began. She had thought of what she would say to her judges beforehand, but now, faced with them all, her mind was a blank. "It was only a joke," she started, smiling broadly in spite of herself. "I thought it'd be a laugh. God of death thought so too, by the by."

"A _joke_?" shouted the god of battle, standing up and letting his fiery aura blaze across the room. "You created a tidal wave! It killed hundreds of people! You had no authorization to do so. And for the record, just because the _god of death_ thinks it'll be funny doesn't mean you're allowed to kill without the proper authorization."

The goddess of love started to cry. "Do you know how many people were left without fathers, without daughters, without family, without friends? And how I have to feel every single heart breaking when these things happen?" She wiped her face and buried it in her knees, which she had drawn up to her chest.

"I – I know, I just –" Ariadne started.

"No, Ari. I'm afraid this is it. You may not have thought it was that bad, but when you do things like this without authorization, it affects everyone. This is the last straw. I propose a fall from the heavens, to live amongst the common man," said the god of seasons in a solemn voice.

"Seconded," said the god of battle loudly, then looked at the goddess of love, who was making jerking movements while sobbing uncontrollably. "Never mind her for now. I'm afraid this is goodbye, Ariadne. We may let you return to your former position at a time when we see fit, but don't count on it, at least not for an eon or so."

"I'll miss you, Ari-adi," said the god of seasons, using her pet name he had used to call her when she was only a few hundred years old. He looked down and Ariadne realized he too was crying, and then felt moisture on her face and realized she was also crying. The god of battle waved his sword and suddenly the cloud beneath her was not solid like it had always been, it was completely incorporeal and she was falling down to the earth at an alarming rate. Though overcome with emotion, the gods must have put some sort of charm on her because she felt her eyelids inexplicably close…

-----

This chapter was short because it's just the prologue. The next ones will definitely be longer, and don't worry, we'll see the book's characters soon enough. Next chapter, if my memory serves me correctly. So I guess you'll have to read the next chapter… should be up tomorrow or maybe the day after.


	2. Dumbledore

Ariadne awoke just outside a huge forest, lying on the dewy grass of the early morning. The sun was just rising and everything was slightly blue-tinged. She stood up, realizing that the damp ground had made her thin gown stick to her body. She unstuck it, annoyed, but it just returned to cling to her skin. She let out a low noise of irk and stomped towards the huge castle that lay in front of her. She was completely at a loss as to what to do in the mortal world. She had no direction and didn't know where she was.

"It was just a joke!" She shouted to the sky, making several birds fly from trees into the pink sunrise. She swung open the doors to the castle and stomped inside. The first thing she saw when she entered was a huge, ugly gargoyle in front of a doorway. "What are you staring at?" she cried. It didn't move. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, you… big, ugly cockroach cluster!" She had no idea what made her say those words but they seemed to be a password of sorts, as he jumped to life and let her pass. She didn't know why, but for some reason she went up the spiraling staircase, reasoning that she had no better plan than to wander around aimlessly. At the top of the stairs, there was another door. She pushed it open and stepped into the room apprehensively.

There were many tiny silver trinkets scattered around the room on shelves and tables, doing curious things and whizzing. A huge, beautiful bird snoozed in a cage next to the window, and an elderly man with an impressively long beard was sitting at a desk, papers held stationary in his hand as he stared at the girl who had just burst unannounced into his office.

"Good morning," he said, bewildered. "And who, may I ask, are you?"

"I am Ariadne Evadine, and I am goddess of spring… or at least I was…" she started off boldly but trailed off when the reality of her situation hit her. She collapsed into a sitting position on the ground and started to cry. She heard the scraping of a chair on the ground and footsteps, and felt a hand clasp her shoulder and gently draw her to a standing position. She wiped her face and attempted a smile. "Sorry."

"Dear girl, you have nothing to be sorry about. Here, sit before my desk and we shall discuss this, for I have become most curious," he said. "Oh, and since we're doing introductions, I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Oh," was all Ariadne could think to say. She had to admit, she liked wizards. They tended to need less attention than ordinary mortals. She saw that Dumbledore was looking at her expectantly, so she poured out her tale. She told him about the god of death cajoling her into creating the tidal wave, then the trial, then being sentenced, up until her arrival in his office. "… so you see, I don't know what to do," she finished, then got an idea. "I could… I could maybe attend the school? Be a regular Hogwartsian," She said hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Miss Evadine, but I cannot allow that. What would be the point of you attending lessons with your powers as they are? You would certainly intimidate the other students and they would have a severely reduced performance. I'm sorry but this is my final word."

"What am I going to do?" She wailed, collapsing into sobs.

"You may stay at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, causing Ariadne to jerk her head up and stare at him. "You have my express permission to live within the castle until you figure out what you want to do in the mortal world. Since you are in no house, you may have a room in each house's section of the castle. This is, of course, if you wish to stay."

"I do, I do!" Ariadne cried, feeling a burst of joy. "Thank you, Dumbledore. I'll be gone before you know it."

"Oh, there's no need for that," he replied pleasantly. "You are here as my guest for as long as you see fit."

Ariadne smiled and left his office to explore the castle. She had a naturally inquisitive mind and wished to see every part of the ancient building as soon as possible. By breakfast the next day, she had thoroughly worn out her dress and was proud to say she had a basic idea of the entire castle's structure. She wasn't particularly hungry, though, when she arrived in the great hall for breakfast, so just took a slice of toast and a goblet of pumpkin juice outside, smiling politely at the teachers seated at the singular table in the centre of the room. Term hadn't begun yet and thus there were no students to fill the house tables. She sat by the lake, watching the placid surface reflecting the forbidden forest on the other side. The summer sun had made the once lush grasses of the Hogwarts grounds dry and prickly on Ariadne's legs, so she waved an arm absent-mindedly and the dry grass under her turned an eerie Technicolor green and was soft as a dewy pillow. Power over plant life was something she had retained after her fall from grace, along with other powers she had used as Spring Goddess.

Every so often a huge tentacle would break the surface of the lake, creating ripples. "Stop that," she said, and the giant squid rose out of the water and replied in the gurgling voice that marked the language of the squid. _You speak to me,_ it gurgled, Ariadne understanding every word as if it were plain English. _I have met no one who possesses this strange gift._ Ariadne sighed. "Yes, well I do possess this strange gift," she called in the same gurgling voice, making fun of the squid, "but I was also enjoying the reflection of the forest on the lake's surface, which you have ruined. Please abstain from doing so in future."

_Very well_, the squid said, and sank down into the water, creating minimal ripples as it found another place to relax. Somebody sat on the dry grass next to Ariadne. It was Dumbledore. "You know the language of the squid?" He asked quietly.

"Apparently," Ariadne said with a smile. "I can speak the language of animals. Spring isn't just about new flowers, you know."

"Apparently," Dumbledore echoed. "I like what you've done with the grass, too."

"Thank you."

"Your dress is looking quite the worse for wear. Today, if you've nothing else to do, we can go to Hogsmeade and get you some new clothes. The rest of the student body won't arrive until dinnertime and for once, I am up to date on my paperwork, so we can take as long as you wish."

"That would be nice," she replied. Usually she was always armed with a sarcastic remark, but in the face of such unwavering kindness from this man who had offered her so much and asked for nothing in return, she could only be polite. On the short walk into the town, she thought about the kind of clothing she would buy. Most of the other gods in the heavens wore the same toga style of white dress, and so she was quite excited at the prospect of some variety. Before she knew it, they were standing in front of a shop called Madam Malkin's, and Dumbledore was holding open the door for her to enter. She did so, smiling at the old man, but her face fell when she entered the shop. It was… robes. Nothing but robes. Sure, they came in different colours, but most of them were black, the kind the god of death wore. She didn't want to spend eternity in these boring, figure-hiding clothes.

"I don't want to be rude, but…"

"Then I suggest you cease speaking, for rudeness usually follows that particular sentence," Dumbledore replied. Ariadne stared at him, but started laughing after she realized he had a very large smile on his face.

"No, I just mean… these are all so _boring_. Can we go to a shop that sells interesting things?"

Dumbledore nodded and accompanied her out of the store, casting an apologetic look to a scandalized-looking Madam Malkin.

-----

Ariadne stood in her room late that night, trying on her new clothes and marveling at herself in the mirror. She had ignored all of Dumbledore's suggestions and bought varying designs and cuts of summer dress. This was her favourite. It was a white dress with large yellow flowers patterned onto it. It gathered together at her breasts and was quite a cozy fit to the narrowest part of her waist, where it fanned out. It went roughly down to her knees and Ariadne was in love with it. She spiraled around the room, gazing at her reflection whenever the opportunity arose.

"These are all lovely, Ariadne," Dumbledore had said in the store when she had handed him her choices. She had nodded enthusiastically. "But don't you want to purchase some clothing for when the weather cools down? You'll be quite cold in just dresses all year." Ariadne had waved his concerns away with a flick of her hand, rushing to gaze at the mannequins who were modeling her chosen dresses.

Once Ariadne had finished modeling her dresses for herself, she realized her eyelids were closing. _Why are they doing that?_ She wondered to herself. She felt the overwhelming urge to lie down. Barely registering what she was doing, she swept all her new dresses onto the ground and flopped down onto her bed in Gryffindor Tower, a lavish four-poster with red velvet drapery and gold linen. She didn't notice the colour scheme though, for her eyes were closed and soon she was drifting off to sleep…


	3. Rescued

"Ari… ake up… it's ti… get o… f bed…" a distant voice was saying things in her ear and her eyes opened slowly. She was still in the dress she had on the previous night, and she sat up suddenly.

"Oh my… I forgot, humans need sleep," she said groggily as she ran a hand through her hair. Dumbledore was standing by her bed, looking down through his half-moon spectacles and pressing his fingertips together in a steeple.

"I did think, after you stayed up all night, that your goddess attributes made sleeping redundant. Obviously I was wrong, and even if sleep was unnecessary in the heavens, you must abide by our human body's rules. This may not extend to all aspects of humanity, so we must wait and see," Dumbledore said. Ariadne only took in about half of it, still groggy.

"Sleep wasn't just unnecessary up there. Can you imagine what we would miss if we slept? We didn't have time for sleep," Ariadne slurred. She needed a bath, badly, but didn't want to be rude and make Dumbledore leave.

"What will happen to your responsibilities?" Dumbledore asked out of the blue.

"My boss, the god of seasons, will do my work for me until they let me back in. It will be no problem for him – he is always complaining that he has nothing to do," she said. Dumbledore nodded and left, causing Ariadne to breathe a sigh of relief. She could finally bathe.

-----

Once she had dried her beautiful chocolate coloured hair, she chose a dark blue dress with tiny white flowers patterned on it. Looking at the time, she saw that it was about an hour to dinnertime. She giggled to herself at the thought of the students who had had to go to classes today. _Suckers_, she thought to herself. She wandered down to the doors that led outside, thinking vaguely of taking a walk in the woods. She was barefoot as always, the rough ground didn't bother her, another residual goddess effect. She walked along the pier at the lake and admired the scenery before noticing with a pang of irritation that the squid was splashing around again. "Hey! That's _very_ annoying!" She called out. But it wasn't a squid that replied. It was most definitely a human, because on hearing the loud gurgling noises, the human shouted.

"Help!" It cried. It was definitely a female voice and was clearly exhausted, using the last of her energy to call out for help. Ariadne sharpened her goddess' sight, realizing that it was indeed a human drowning. She quickly weighed her options. She could call some aquatic creature up to help the girl. But that would take too long. She would have to count on someone hearing her through the water, then coming up to see what was the matter, then she would have to explain it all to them. By that time it may be too late. There was only one thing she could think to do. She pulled off her dress quickly and dived into the water. Before she hit the water, she underwent a huge transformation. Her body elongated and widened, her nose lengthening and becoming narrow. Her arms shrank to her sides to become fins, and a grey dorsal fin sprouted from her back. Her feet flattened and became a grey tail fin. She hit the water as a bottlenose dolphin and swiftly zoomed towards the drowning girl.

She reached her in seconds and swam underneath her, rising up between her legs so that the girl could hold her dorsal fin and ride her to shore. The girl put a weary arm on either side of Ariadne's head, carefully avoiding the blowhole, and pressed an exhausted face against the body of the dolphin that had saved her. When they reached the pier, Ariadne flicked her rear half upwards, sending the girl flying onto the pier. After a second or two, Ariadne reached a human arm up onto the pier and pulled herself up to join the girl. She was completely soaked, her dress clinging to her legs. She wrung it out a few times but it was still damp so she just decided to let it dry in the hot afternoon sun. The girl was lying on her side in the foetal position, coughing up water. She had shockingly red hair and when she opened her eyes blearily, though bloodshot, they were identical to Ariadne's vibrant green ones. Ariadne swept the girl's soaking her off her face and after a minute or so, when she had regained some of her strength, she sat up to stare at Ariadne.

"Who are you? And what happened to that dolphin? I didn't know there were dolphins in the lake," she said croakily. Ariadne rolled her eyes.

"I'm Ariadne Evadine, former goddess of spring, but you can just call me Ariadne if you want," she replied. "That dolphin was me; I can morph into any creature I want."

"You?" the girl said, surprised. "You saved my life… thank you so much. I'm Lily. Lily Evans, goddess of being awesome."

Ariadne laughed. "Eh, I wasn't about to watch someone die in front of me and do nothing," she lied. Privately, she thought she wouldn't have given a flying monkey if she saw yet _another_ human die, after all, she had witnessed an infinite number of deaths during the ages. She was just hoping to get her karma back up so that she could get back into the heavens quicker. "What were you doing out there anyway?"

"I thought I'd have a swim before dinner… but I swam too far out and by the time I realised I couldn't get back, I was already exhausted," she said. "It's all very embarrassing."

"Meh," Ariadne replied. "Let's dry off, then get some dinner. I've barely eaten in days, I'm starving."

-----

Ariadne had just eaten fit to burst and was going to leave for the Gryffindor common room with her new friend Lily when they were approached by four boys. Two were quite handsome and dark-haired; one rather bookish with sandy-blonde hair, and another seemed the odd one out, quite small and portly.

"Hey, Lily," one of the dark-haired boys said. He had glasses and attractively messy hair, which he ran a hand through to mess it up even more. "I was thinking, maybe you want to… study with me later?" The other dark-haired boy tried unsuccessfully to hide a snigger.

"Hey, James," Lily said acidly, copying him. "I was thinking, maybe you want to… go away and leave me the hell alone?" At this, the dark-haired boy could no longer control himself. He burst into laughter, a loud laugh that stayed with the two girls until they turned a corner and were too far away to hear it.

"Who were _they_?" Ariadne asked curiously, a smile on her face.

"They call themselves The Marauders. Stupid, right?" Lily replied. "The one that was talking to me was James Potter. He never leaves me alone. It's quite annoying, I've said multiple times that there will never be anything between us, but he doesn't get the hint."

"And the others?" Ariadne prompted.

"The laughing one was Sirius Black. Him and Potter are inseparable, like twins. They're both as idiotic and evil as each other. The little fat one was Peter Pettigrew. He's pretty invisible most of the time, I don't know what he's doing with them. He doesn't seem like the type to delight in pulling cruel pranks like the others, but he pretends to. It's quite pathetic."

"And the other one?"

"That's Remus Lupin. I like him okay. He doesn't pretend to enjoy a lot of the things that they do, but he never protests at them. He's usually just reading or keeping to himself unless the other three take him along for the ride."

"I see," Ariadne said.

"I wonder why James hit on me today?" Lily thought out loud. "I don't exactly look the picture of the perfect girl." Ariadne looked at her. She was right. Her mascara had run from the water and her hair hung in odd-looking curly tendrils from the water. Her eyes were still bloodshot.

"It is a mystery that will plague us until the end of time," Ariadne murmured thoughtfully, drawing a laugh from Lily. "Look, we're at the portrait. I think it's time for a bath, we're covered in lake water."

Lily nodded in agreement and the two girls stepped through the portrait hole leading to Gryffindor Tower.


	4. New Friends

Several days of making friends with Lily's group later, Ariadne awoke long after classes had started for everyone else. She wandered outside to bask in the sun, knowing that winter was coming soon and she should enjoy the sun while she could. She found her favourite tree and sat beneath it, before noticing that she was not alone. A boy who looked about seventeen was sitting in the tree, writing something. He had long, black hair and pale skin, with a hooked nose. Having seen Ariadne, he was frozen, quill poised above the paper.

"Hello," she said pleasantly. "Don't mind me."

"I know you," he said bluntly. "You're that goddess girl. You're not even a real witch. What are you doing at Hogwarts? What year are you in?"

"I'm not in any year. I'm just staying here as Dumbledore's guest until I figure out what I want to do in the mortal world," Ariadne said, the smile fading from her face as she felt the open hostility towards her.

"That old fool wouldn't know his hat from a dead cat," the boy said cruelly. "He's too forgiving, too trusting. How does he know you're not going to obliterate us all with your weird powers? And how old are you anyway?"

"If I was going to do that, I would have done it by now," Ariadne said. She didn't like this boy. "And I am eternity," she said acidly.

"So that means..." the boy started. He purposefully knocked over the goblet of pumpkin juice he had perched between two branches, and the liquid cascaded down onto Ariadne's head while the heavy goblet hit her shoulder. Blood sprouted from her shoulder where the sharp rim had hit her. "… I can do this, and you won't do anything about it?"

"I never said that," a furious Ariadne said, her eyes blazing. She took a moment to connect her mind with the essence of the tree he was in. A branch came down and scratched his paper badly, so that pieces of parchment fluttered to the ground.

"That was my essay!" He shouted angrily.

"That was my shoulder!" Ariadne replied, equally furious. She used her mind powers to shake the branches he was sitting in, and he slipped down, narrowly managing to catch a branch with his hand to avoid falling to the ground. Ariadne concentrated, and a branch with several thin twigs at the end flipped around to thwack him on the rear end. She repeated this a few more times until she got tired of it, then sent another branch to hit him on the wrist, making him lose his grip on the branch and fall to the ground. He sat there, angrily muttering to himself as his massaged his wrist. She walked away, satisfied with her revenge. She had only gone a few metres when the four boys from the other night's dinner popped up in front of her.

"That was awesome," said Sirius. He waved his wand at her and the pumpkin juice vanished, which she was incredibly grateful for. "The way you got Snivellus. We didn't even realise he liked to sit in that tree. Thanks for the tip-off."

"Is that his name? Snivellus?" Ariadne asked. The boys laughed.

"Well, not really…" James said. "It's Severus, Severus Snape. But we call him Snivellus. That was really cool, what you did. Pranking would be so much easier if we were all gods, like you."

"If you were gods you would be in heaven, and you would get exiled for pranking," Ariadne said, remembering her trial. "Like me."

"Oh, is that what you did?" said Sirius. "We actually had a bet on. Remus thought you'd offended the head honcho. Peter agreed with him. Me and James thought you must have had _relations_ with another god, or something."

"Nope, I caused a tidal wave. Killed some people," she said offhandedly. The boys gaped, shocked. "Oh, don't look so surprised. I've been around since before the human race even _existed_. We _created_ you. I've seen an uncountable number of people die. I figured a few more wouldn't hurt. Besides, the god of death thought it would be a good idea."

"Yeah, I thought it had something to do with the god of death," Sirius said. It was Ariadne's turn to look surprised. "You were dozing in an armchair in the common room and you kept saying '_god of death, all his damn fault, never again…'_ and stuff like that. That's why me and James created our theory about you."

"Are you kidding? Me, sleep with the god of death? I don't even think he has reproductive organs. He's pretty much just a big old skeleton with a hooded cloak," Ariadne laughed, as they walked back up to the castle together. "Most of the gods I wouldn't go near with a ten-foot pole. Half of them are old, and the other half are so insufferably egotistical that you can barely get a word in inch ways, what with all their yapping about all the stuff they did. Like, so just because you can cause a drought in Australia I'm supposed to find you attractive? No way."

The boys laughed and James held open the front doors for her. She cast him an amused look to say 'I could have done that', but he ignored it and bowed to her, a lopsided grin on his face.

"Besides, we don't get exiled for relations with other gods. It's all cool in the heavens," she continued.

"But what if you have a baby or something?" said Sirius, shuddering at the thought of small children.

"Never came up," Ariadne replied shortly. "Gods can't have children, I don't know why. Probably because we don't need to. We never die, if we could reproduce the heavens would be horrifically overpopulated."

"Really?" Sirius said in a voice he clearly thought was suave, as he put an arm around her shoulders. Ariadne rolled her eyes and shoved his arm off.

"Yes. But a lot of things changed for me when I fell to earth, so don't get your hopes up. Now I do a lot of human things I didn't do before, and getting pregnant could well be one of them."

-----

Back in the Gryffindor common room, the four boys and Ariadne were sitting around the fire. They had been talking for quite some time when Remus looked at his watch and swore.

"We're late for class!" He said, gathering his books into his bag and running out of the portrait hole. The other three boys barely moved, but Peter shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Why weren't you in class before?" Ariadne asked, the realization suddenly striking her.

"Free period," James replied. "Now Moony has –"

"Moony?"

"Er… yes. We kind of have nicknames for each other. Remus' is Moony. Mine's Prongs, Sirius' is Padfoot, and Peter's is Wormtail."

"Cute," she muttered, cocking one eyebrow.

"So anyway, now Moony has Defense against the Dark Arts, which he loves. He's always saying he wants to be an Auror, but I don't know how that's going to work, what with his furry little problem."

"James," Sirius said sharply, then turning to Ariadne, said "Moony has… a rabbit. It's not exactly well-behaved. Its magical, so it will live for a really long time… and he loves it, so he can't bear to send it away…" he trailed off.

"Really? A rabbit?" Ariadne replied, interested. "What's its name? Can I see it? Is it a boy or a girl?" She loved animals.

"It's… a boy. It, um, it doesn't like meeting strangers, it makes the little guy go crazy. Its name is… um, its name is…"

"Rabbit," Peter jumped in. "Moony isn't very creative. Its name is Rabbit." Sirius and James sent silent 'thank-you' looks towards him and Ariadne nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Look at the time! Moony was right. Time for class!" James said loudly, jumping up and rushing out of the room, followed by Sirius and Peter. When they were a good distance away from the common room, Sirius punched James in the arm.

"What the hell, Prongs? You almost told her his secret, which would lead to _our _secrets, which would lead to Azkaban," Sirius said, shuddering. "You know just thinking about that place gives me the willies."

"Sorry, I just forgot…" he apologized profusely until Sirius and Peter had to ask him to please shut up.

-----

After classes were over for that day, Ariadne went to the Great Hall to have dinner with Lily. She waved to the Marauders on the way to where Lily and her friends were sitting, causing her to get a quizzical look from Lily.

"Why did you wave to them?" She asked when Ariadne sat down and took a mouthful of potato.

"Got to talking with them today," Ariadne said after swallowing. "They're not as bad as all that, they were very nice to me. It was strange. They were asking all these questions about what it was like back in the heavens."

"Of course they were, they always do that. They pretend to be interested in everything a girl says just to get into her pants," Lily said. Ariadne stared at her.

"So the only reason someone could be interested in the things I say is because they want to get into my pants?"

"That… I wasn't… I'm sorry, Ariadne. I should never have said anything," Lily said. She hated to offend anyone, though privately she thought that if she was one of the boys she would have said anything too, to get closer to Ariadne. She was very beautiful. Lily herself didn't like Ariadne as more than a friend, but she could understand how many boys would. She went back to her dinner, thinking. _If she wants to be friends with them, that's nobody's business but hers. Who am I to say otherwise?_


	5. Invitations

Thereafter, Ariadne spent all of the time she could with the Marauders, which was mostly just in their free periods and the classes they skipped. She spent evenings and weekends with Lily and her friends, mostly. She wished that her two groups of friends would just _like_ each other so that she didn't have to split up her time like that, it was quite tiresome. She got on very well with all of the Marauders, helping Moony with his homework, being an open ear for Wormtail to vent his emotions, causing breezes to lift girls' skirts for Padfoot, and spending time with Prongs thinking of new ways for him to convince Lily to go out with him. The latter proved harder and harder for Ariadne to do, seeing as she had, over the weeks, developed a fairly substantial crush on James. One night, after Lily, her friends, and the rest of the Marauders had gone to bed, Ariadne and James were still up, sitting by the fire.

"You know what I think?" James said suddenly. "I think this dance is the perfect way to get Lily to like me. I'll get her to go with me and she'll see how great I am."

"I think she doesn't like you partly because of your ego," Ariadne said absent-mindedly. "Maybe you should spend less time trying to tell her how great you are."

The dance James was speaking of was one that had been announced that night at dinner. It would occur on Halloween night and be open to all students fifth year and above. All the senior students were very excited about this. They had never heard of a Hogwarts dance before and were positive this was something they would only get to do once. Ariadne longed to ask James to the dance, but knew he would only want to go with Lily.

"I need a way to make sure she goes to the dance with _me_," he said.

"Easy," Ariadne said. "Kill all the other boys in the school. Kidding," she said quickly, seeing the look on James' face. "But I think that she would only go with you if there were no other choice. Not to say you aren't really lovely, and everything… Lily just loathes you."

"Yes!" James said, sitting up straight, "And you can't go to the dance unless you have a date! So I just need a way to… I've got it!"

"What? You've got what?" Ariadne said, fearful of what James was planning.

"You, my dear, are not just a pretty face," James said, kissing her on the forehead. "I have the perfect idea."

"What is it?" Ariadne asked.

"You'll find out tomorrow, at breakfast," James said, patting her on the cheek swiftly before running up to his dormitory. The place where he had kissed her tingled with what felt like electricity. She touched the place and smiled briefly, before going up to bed, to dream of that moment.

-----

The next morning at breakfast, she had all but forgotten James' unspoken plans until he tapped a piece of parchment he was holding and a copy appeared on the lap of every male in the room, and one copy went to Ariadne.

"I thought you might like to see the idea that came from our incredible genius," he said, smiling. Ariadne looked at the parchment and groaned.

_Dear Hogwartsian Male,_

_This is a letter only to you. Let no female see it. Let no teacher see it. Most of all, do not let Lily Evans see it. Do you see that girl at the Gryffindor table? The stunningly beautiful one, with the red hair and green eyes. Sitting next to the little pixie-like girl with the blonde hair. See her? Good. Now don't even glance at her again. If any of you boys ask her to the Halloween dance, I will personally kill you._

_Sincerely,_

_James Potter_

Ariadne crumpled up the letter and shoved it in James' bag before Lily could see it. "You're an idiot," she said with a smile. "This is never going to work."

-----

The night before the Halloween dance, James approached Lily in the Gryffindor common room. Nobody had asked her to the dance. Her friends were all at a loss as to why, and Ariadne did a very good impression of one who doesn't know the truth.

"Hey, Lily," he said. "Halloween dance is tomorrow."

"Yes," she said coldly, "It is."

"Go with me? You know you need a date."

"Never," she said. "I'd rather not go at all."

James had not counted on this. Fortunately, he had a quick mind. "What are you going to do, rattle around Gryffindor Tower all night, until your friends come back and tell you about the fantastic time they had?"

"Fine!" Lily shouted. "I'll go to the stupid dance with you. But it doesn't mean I like you and it doesn't mean I want anything to do with you after that night. Clear?"

"As crystal, my beautiful ice queen," James said silkily, bowing away. He gave Ariadne a look and she excused herself and followed him to the other side of the common room. "Did you see that? She said yes!"

"I'm very happy for you," Ariadne said in a carefully controlled voice. She wanted to rage at James, but knew it would be for nothing. "Excuse me."

She had secretly hoped that Lily would decline, leaving James to ask her. She was sure this was what would occur. Now that she saw this was not the case, she was stuck. She wanted to go to the dance. She had to, to keep an eye on James. She didn't want to go with anyone else. Besides, all the attractive boys were taken. She needed someone who didn't want to go to the dance, but would be too polite to decline. Then, it struck her. She went up the stairs to the boys' dormitories and entered the seventh-year dormitory. It was nearly empty, except for one boy, reclining on his bed and reading a book about werewolves.

"Strange topic to read about," Ariadne said, pointing to his book, which he swiftly closed and shoved into a drawer.

"Did you want something?" He asked politely with a smile. "Or did you just want to sit on my bed and make small talk."

"Er, no…" she said, feeling awkward. "You see, I left this a bit late, but if you weren't going with anyone else, do you want to go to the Halloween dance with me?"

"Did Lily say yes to James, then?" Remus wanted to say, but didn't dare. He knew that Ariadne was into James. He didn't want to go to the dance, but knew Ariadne would go crazy if she had to stay in Gryffindor Tower while James and Lily were off doing god knows what at the dance. And Ariadne was a very attractive girl; he would have loved to go out with her anytime. _Maybe she will see me in a different light, and forget about James,_ he thought to himself. "Sure," he said, trying to appear nonchalant. Ariadne squealed in delight and hugged him briefly before going to her dormitory to sleep.


	6. Getting the Hint

The next day, Ariadne woke up in the late afternoon – she had taken to staying up too late, forgetting that she was human and needed sleep. She looked at the clock and saw that it was barely an hour to the dance, and let out a tiny squeal.

"Oh _no!_" She cried. She hadn't even picked out a dress yet. She settled on her favourite, the white dress with the yellow flowers. She laid this dress on the bed and ran to her personal bathroom to wash herself. Once the dress was on and her hair had dried, she rushed to the seventh-year girls' dormitory, where Lily had promised to do her hair if she arrived in time. It was five minutes until the dance was scheduled to start and Lily was about to leave the dormitory in a beautiful, flowing white dress when Ariadne burst in.

"Is there still time? Is it okay?" She cried.

"Yes, it will only take a second… _carmelinius!_" Lily uttered, pointing a wand at Ariadne's head, and her hair bounced into beautiful brown waves. They walked down to the common room together, Lily in white sandals, Ariadne barefoot, only to see their dates standing in the middle of the room, watching them descend.

"You look absolutely stunning, Lily," James said, offering a hand, which went ignored.

"Shutup, Potter," came the reply, Lily stomping out of the common room and James following her reluctantly, clearly not wanting to be on the receiving end of more hostility.

"Ariadne," Remus said, nodding. "May I say, you do look lovely. It must have taken a long time to get your hair to do that."

"Oh, yeah, it took forever," Ariadne said absent-mindedly as she watched James leave. Remus sighed, and Ariadne noticed. "You look nice too, Moony," she said with a smile, which he returned.

-----

The dance had been going on for half an hour and Remus was bored out of his mind. He and Ariadne both hated dancing but had danced a few songs just because there was nothing better to do. After the dancing became unbearably boring, they decided to just sit and talk with butterbeer.

"Why did we even come to this?" Ariadne mused, taking a sip. "It's awful. You always think dances are going to be fun, then you actually go to one and it's just… it's just not."

"I know. I wasn't going to come, I hate dances. At least I have someone to hate dances with me, though," Remus replied, smiling at her. He was going well. She had barely glanced at James all night. He took a deep breath, it was now or never. "I was thinking of maybe going back to Gryffindor Tower," he said, trying to hint at her to come with him.

"Oh," she said. "Bit boring here, isn't it? Well, I don't mind. You can go, I'll stay here a while, finish my drink. See you later, maybe."

Remus sighed inwardly. He rose and pushed his chair in with a bit more force than was completely necessary, causing his empty bottle to fall over and clunk loudly on the table. Ariadne picked it back up. "Careful," she said. "Sleep well, Moony." He looked at his feet for a moment.

"Have a nice night," he said, and left without saying goodbye. Ariadne didn't notice, however, for at the precise moment the doors closed on Remus' back, there came an angry shout from the dance floor. Ariadne's head shot up to see Lily screaming at James. Ariadne wondered what had got her so riled up, but then realised she was waving about a crumpled piece of parchment that looked dangerously like the one James had given to every male at Hogwarts warning them against inviting Lily to the dance.

"I can't believe you! You threatened every other boy at Hogwarts? You… you don't care about my feelings, do you? Never have! All that matters is that you get exactly what you want. Well, Potter," she shouted, spitting out the name as if it were poison, "this time you aren't going to get what you want, because no matter how much you pester me, no matter what you say, I never have and never will want to ever go out with you! You are ruining my life! Can you just leave me the hell alone? Please!"

James stared at her. This was a violent reaction he had not expected. Tonight was supposed to be the night that Lily realised how great he was. Tonight was supposed to be the night that his life changed, because he would be with Lily. He had been so sure about her. So sure that they were meant to be together, that he could not be without her. How could he have been so wrong?

"I'm sorry, Lily," he said. "I'm sorry you feel that way, and I'm sorry if I've ruined your life." And with that, he turned and walked out of the Great Hall towards the Entrance Hall, Lily stalking off towards the doors that led to the rest of the castle. Ariadne ran out of the Great Hall, after James. She found him sitting at the edge of the pier at the lake.

"Hey," she said, sitting down beside him. James shivered in the cold autumn night. "If I were wearing a coat I'd give it to you."

"Then you'd be cold," James said, then looked at her. "Aren't you cold now? I'm wearing long sleeves, and I'm freezing."

"I don't feel the cold," Ariadne said simply. "Gods are impervious to temperature."

She smiled at him, and James looked at her properly for once. He saw her bright, emerald green eyes, just like Lily's. Then, after that split-second, the resemblance was gone and he was left with Ariadne, a stunningly beautiful goddess with amazing eyes.

"Riddle me this," he began, lying back on the pier. Ariadne joined him, staring at the stars. "Why have I spent all this time trying to get a girl who loathes me, when there is an absolutely divine creature right under my nose?"

"I don't know, it sounds like a stupid thing to do," Ariadne replied. "But I think you should tell Remus how you feel. He'll be absolutely over the moon, and you guys can adopt." This earned her a playful thwack on the arm from James.

"You know what I mean. I think I may be falling for you, Ariadne, my beautiful goddess."

-----

The next morning, they walked back to the Gryffindor common room from the pier. They were just about to go their separate ways up to their respective dormitories, when James took her hand.

"So, are you gonna be my girl?" He said to her with his lopsided grin. She nodded.

"Sure."


	7. Lily and James, Sitting in a Tree

Oh wow, adoring, that's a really nice thing to say! I've come over all giddy. Watch it or I'll get a big head!

-----

Ariadne walked up to her dormitory, a huge grin plastered on her face. She barely noticed opening her door and slipping into bed contently, because she was intoxicated by love. She knew now what her purpose was, what she wanted to do in her time on earth. She would be with James for the rest of his days. He would eventually grow old, but she didn't care. She would stay young and beautiful, visually pleasing him until the day that he died. This seemed like the perfect way to live a half century on earth. She slipped into sleep easily, dreaming of that perfect night she had shared with the love of her life.

"Ariadne, wake up," came a voice, stirring her from her slumber. It was James. She sat up quickly and smiled at him. "It's almost dinner."

"That late? Then you'd better stay away from me, I'll be super stinky," she said, wandering to the bathroom to brush her teeth. James followed her and slipped his arms around her waist, hugging her. She elbowed him out of the way. "Own oo ack, I ryin' oo rush eye feef," she stumbled across the words, finding it difficult to talk with a toothbrush in her mouth. She rinsed her mouth out quickly and straightened up. "What I meant was, don't do that, I'm trying to brush my teeth."

James smiled. "Really? Because I could have sworn you said 'Slow news, Jack. Mine's mushy peas'," he chuckled at her, earning a playful punch on the shoulder. "Let's go to dinner. My sources tell me that it's roast chicken tonight."

"Sources?" Ariadne asked suspiciously.

"Yes," James replied good-naturedly, pretending not to realise the extent of her question. This earned him another punch.

-----

By the time they got down to the Great Hall, Lily and her friends were already there, waiting for Ariadne to show up. When she entered the room with James and none of the other Marauders, Lily was puzzled.

"Where are the other three?" She asked. One of her friends giggled darkly.

"Last night when you stormed off, Ariadne followed James outside. This morning, I saw her sneaking up to her dormitory. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together," she whispered as Ariadne drew closer and took a seat next to Lily, James following her.

"Hey Ari," Lily said good-naturedly. She would get the truth out.

"Hey Lily. Great news, me and James have decided to go out," Ariadne said. "It means he won't be bugging you anymore," she continued, putting a hand on top of James'.

"Yeah, that's terrific news!" Lily said. "I'm very happy for you, and it's great that _someone_ won't be taking up my valuable time with hitting on me."

_It IS terrific news, Lily_, she told herself. _So why am I so angry? Why do I want to yell at my new friend?_ She kept very silent all through dinner, but twitched slightly whenever Ariadne and James' hands _accidentally_ touched while reaching for the baked potatoes. That night, when everyone else had gone to sleep, Lily lay awake. _Don't be stupid,_ she told herself. _You hate James. You don't like him. The only reason you are feeling this way is because the respite from James' nagging has caused a massive emotional upheaval. That is all. So why can't I sleep?_ The sun was rising on a new day, and Lily stared out of the window from her bed. The room was cast in an orange glow, making Lily's already flaming red hair look as though it were on fire. She sighed and got out of bed. It was a Sunday, no classes. She would have to be around James and Ariadne all day.

She padded down to the common room to find James and Ariadne, apparently having not found their ways back up to their dormitories the previous night, asleep on a couch in front of the fire, which was now reduced to glowing embers. A house-elf scuttled in and started the fire going again, tidying up the room slightly before rushing out. _That was fast_, Lily said. _No wonder nobody ever sees them. That one was in and out in about ten seconds_. Light shone through the window, moving down until it reached Ariadne's eyes. Then, she twitched and her eyes opened, taking in her surroundings.

"Oh no, we fell asleep," she said, poking James to wake him. "Lily!" She cried, only just having seen her friend. "You're… up early! Wow, you look tired –"

"I didn't sleep last night," Lily said bluntly.

"Oh," replied Ariadne. "Do you want to play wizard's chess or something? You always beat me but I don't mind –"

"No," Lily said. "I – sorry, I just have a lot of work to do, so… I have to go to the library. Also, I don't want to be disturbed." And with that, she rushed out of the common room.

"That was weird," James said. "Hey Ari, a lot of people are going to be getting up soon, and I don't have anything planned for today…"

"So let me guess, you want to take full advantage of the fact I have my own dormitory?" Ariadne said shrewdly. James grinned.

"You are the most amazing, perfect girl in the world," he said, kissing her.

-----

Over the next few days, Lily tried to convince herself that she was wrong. But she knew in her heart that the worst was true – after seven years, she realised she loved James, and at the perfect time – he was dating a close friend. By the next weekend, she had fully come to terms with the fact that she loved him. By the weekend after, she couldn't take it anymore. She cornered James in the common room in the early afternoon of a Saturday, before late-rising Ariadne was awake.

"James," she started, but was cut off.

"Its okay, Lily, I'm with Ariadne," James said. "You don't need to worry about me anymore. And I'm sorry that I threatened all the guys."

"No James, I'm sorry," Lily said, looking at her feet. "I didn't mean to get so mad at you. All those times you did things I thought were horrible and stupid, you were just doing them for me. I'm sorry I didn't see that sooner."

"Erm… that's okay, Lily," he said.

"Another thing I should have seen sooner…" she started, but stopped. How to put this? "I think, since you and Ariadne became an item, that I have realised something."

"Um… you're really a lesbian and you're going to go on a journey of self-discovery on the Himalayas?" James hazarded a guess, to try to cut through the tension in the air. Lily laughed, but it was more a sob.

"No, James. I – I think I'm in love with you," she said. "Finally."

"Oh," James said. "Well –"

"No, I mean, I don't want anything to happen between us," she said quickly, in case he got the wrong idea. "You and Ariadne seem really happy together and I don't want to spoil that, or ruin the friendship me and her have. I just wanted to tell you, because it was eating me up inside."

"Well… you told me," James said, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Yeah, I did," Lily replied, before abruptly running up to her dormitory, leaving James at the foot of the stairs, wondering.


	8. She Done Been Knocked Up

A/N: I have tried the pickles/cream combination, and it's not as disgusting as you might think. It's actually incredibly, incredibly delicious. You really do have to try it. This chapter does skip a bit in the time frame department, but if you have any troubles with where they're at, tell me and I'll try and clear it up for you.

-----

This time, it was James' turn to lie awake. He turned it over in his mind. On the one hand, there was Lily, who he had loved ever since he had first laid eyes on her, and who had said that she didn't want to pursue a relationship right now. Then there was Ariadne, who was a goddess, equally or more beautiful than Lily, sweet, fun, and who he loved dearly. Of course, the obvious answer was to stay with Ariadne, but it was hard to control emotion with logic, no matter how hard he tried. By dawn, he had come to a decision. He would stay with Ariadne. He was sure Lily only liked him because he was taken, and Ariadne was a wonderful girl who didn't deserve to have her heart broken in that way. He dozed off, waking up right before dinnertime. He walked down to the Great Hall, but before he got there he was yanked inside an empty classroom and the door was locked behind him. He looked up into the smiling face of Ariadne.

"James, I've got some fantastic news," Ariadne said, obviously delighted.

-----

_One and a half months earlier…_

-----

Ariadne woke up, much too hot. She had been sleeping for quite some time, as she was still not used to sleeping every night and had stayed up all night the night before. She kicked her quilt off her roughly, before she saw that there was blood all over her sheets. She put hands to her torso, checking for wounds. Finding none, she ran down the stairs and into the seventh-year girls' dormitory.

"I'm dying!" She cried, before realizing that the dormitory was empty. Panicking further, she was about to leave to find other assistance when a voice came from Lily's bed and she realised the dormitory wasn't empty at all.

"Dying? What do you mean?" Asked Lily, sitting on her bed and reading a book.

"I'm bleeding to death! I can't find a wound but there's all this blood on my sheets and –"

Lily laughed loudly before stifling herself, squeezing her lips together tightly. "Ari, you're not dying. I guess you haven't been a mortal for long."

-----

_One and a half months later…_

-----

Ariadne woke up at 10am, extremely early for her. She was awake at this time because she had gone to sleep early, with James preoccupied with talking to his friends about some map she had nothing to do in the evening but sleep. She looked at the calendar and with a jolt of her stomach, realised something very important. She was late, by around a fortnight. This could only mean one thing. She squealed in unbridled joy, before running down to the Great Hall for something to eat before the breakfast was removed. She was out of luck, though, and so had to go down to the kitchens, the way James had shown her. She tickled the pear on the painting and it giggled, turning into a handle for her to pull open and visit the house-elves.

"Hello!" She cried, and they all grinned broadly and waved at her, several rushing up to see what she needed.

"What is miss wanting?" One said eagerly, its tea-towel loincloth emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest. Ariadne thought. What did she feel like eating?

"Pickles!" She said finally. One rushed away to fetch a jar of them for her. "Oh, and cream!" Once she had the food, she skipped back to the Gryffindor common room to eat her pickles and cream, uncaring of the looks she was receiving from the other students. "Mmm, nyum nyum nyum," she said contentedly, once her food had run out. She hadn't meant to eat the whole jar, but it was just so delicious that she couldn't help herself. Then the thought struck her. She would have to tell James about her discovery. But it would have to be perfect. She was incredibly happy, and knew he would be too. She ran down to the Great Hall, but he wasn't eating lunch there like he should have been. She made her way back up to Gryffindor Tower, but before she had gone past the first transfiguration classroom, she saw him. She slipped into the doorway, and then just as he was passing, pulled him in, locking the door behind him. He looked up and she smiled at him.

"James, I've got some fantastic news," she said. He smiled, his eyes lighting up like a child in a toy store.

"Ari, wait," he said, putting a hand to her lips. "I just want to say… I love you. I never thought that this kind of happiness, the kind I'm feeling with you, was possible. This year is probably shaping up to be the best one I've had yet and it's just because of you. I never want things to change, and I hope we stay like we are now forever."

"That's great, James," she replied, even happier. "I love you too, but there is still my good news. I'm pregnant."

She looked at him, expecting to see a joyful expression, or even a slightly contented one, but she was not prepared for what she actually saw. James looked terrified.

"That's not good news!" He cried.

"What are you talking about? Of course it is!" Ariadne replied. "We get to have another little person to love! How can that be bad?"

"Ari, I'm only seventeen, I'm not ready to be a father," James said, frustrated, with his head in his hands. "I don't want a baby!"

"You… why not? _Why not?_" She demanded, starting to get angry. "Well I do! And I thought you would too!"

"Well, you thought wrong. I don't want you to have this baby, Ariadne."

"I'm having it," Ariadne said dangerously, "and you are going to damn well love it."

"I don't want a baby," James repeated, quieter this time. "I'm not ready, and I don't think you are either."

"I'm ready," Ariadne said. "And I think you are too."

"I'm not!" He cried. "I'm not at all! _Lily_ wouldn't want a baby!"

"Well Lily doesn't love you like I do!" Ariadne retorted.

"She does! She told me so!" James shouted. "And to be frank I'm starting to think I made a mistake with you."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Ariadne said coldly, before leaving the room.

-----

The next morning, James went up to Ariadne's room to try and apologize. He still didn't want a baby but wanted to be on good terms with Ariadne. To his surprise, her room was empty. Her clothes were gone. There was no indication she had ever been there.


	9. Epilogue

Ariadne ran to the library, sobbing all the way. She got there without meeting anyone, as they were all in the Great Hall, and so she was alone to think about what had just transpired. After a moment, she snatched a piece of parchment from the paper store in the library and fished a quill and an ink bottle out of the spares box. She sat at a table and began to write.

_Dear James,_

_I'm sorry you don't want anything to do with our baby. I'm also sorry for springing it on you like that – I thought you would be as happy as I was, but I guess you weren't. This is why I have to do this. I have to leave Hogwarts, forever. I'm leaving tonight, so you won't ever have to see me or the baby again. I know you and Lily will be very happy together. Think of this as a last, parting gift to you – you can be with her and suffer no inconvenience from me or the baby._

_I love you, James, and if you ever want to be a part of this baby's life then just call on me. I will be more than happy. But for now, I have to leave you with Lily, so you can create a life for you both that doesn't involve me, or babies. (Just yet anyway, wink wink.)_

_So maybe I'll see you later, if you want. This letter is just to let you know that I'm keeping the baby, and I'm not running away. I'm leaving because I love you and I want the best life possible for you, and if that doesn't include me or the baby then that is something I am going to have to live with._

_Love forever,_

_Ariadne_

She folded it up, wiping the tears from her cheeks, and went to the Owlery to find a suitable means of delivery. She didn't want to have to ask anyone to take the letter to James for her, and didn't want to leave it somewhere that anyone might stumble across it. She found a beautiful barn owl and petted its feathers as she gave it her letter.

"Get this to James, but make sure it doesn't get to him before tomorrow," she said, and the owl cooed in reply. It nuzzled its head against her hand and she smiled at it, before leaving to pack her meager possessions. All she really had were those few dresses, which fit into the one bag which she could sling over one shoulder. She walked out of the castle and through the gates, wiping the tears from the eyes as she emotionally farewelled the castle that had been her home. She felt bad, not saying goodbye to Dumbledore, but knew, somehow, that he would understand.

Once she reached Hogsmeade, she sat down outside a place called The Three Broomsticks and wiped her face once more. She breathed in and out deeply, trying to gather herself. A woman stepped outside and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You look down, love, anythin' the matter?" she asked Ariadne.

"Everything," Ariadne replied. "I've just left the only home I've ever known and now I don't know what I'm doing. I don't have anywhere to go and I really don't know how things are going to work out for me."

"I think I may be able to 'elp you, love," said the woman. "I own this 'ere establishment and it just so 'appens we're lookin' for a new waitress. Pay's not great, but it's a pretty simple job an' there's rooms up above the bar that you can stay in, free of charge, bein' staff an' all."

"You'd do that for me?" Ariadne asked, surprised. "You barely know me!"

"Yeah, but I can recognize a girl who needs a little 'elpin' 'and. 'Ere, come inside and we'll get you started." Ariadne followed the woman into the bar, amazed at her luck. Life wouldn't be as easy as it was at Hogwarts, and it would get harder once the baby was born, but it was a start. She didn't need to worry about James seeing her working at the bar, because she had told the owner of the bar, a middle-aged woman named Violet, their story and the owner had offered to work the bar during Hogwarts visits so that Ariadne never had to face the father of her baby, or his friends. Violet liked Ariadne. She was a quick learner, and pretty soon, due to her pretty face and curvy figure, she was the reason that the bar almost doubled its income. Even the women didn't mind their husbands attending the bar more often, as they liked Ariadne too, feeling her stomach when the baby bump started to appear. She made friends fast, and when the baby girl was born Violet gave her quite a substantial pay rise and more flexible hours, partly due to all the extra profit Ariadne had been bringing in. When her daughter was very young, she heard about the death of the love of her life, and knew nobody was safe in England anymore. Especially if her child was related to the great Harry Potter, who had survived the attack. So with a lot of help from Violet and her new friends, she moved to France to seek her fortune.

James never did see Ariadne again, he had heard rumours about her working at The Three Broomsticks but since nobody could confirm having seen her there, he was forced to dismiss these as just that – rumours. Soon after Ariadne had left Hogwarts, he and Lily started to date. Soon after they had finished school, Lily fell pregnant, but since they were married and both working at the time, James didn't mind one bit. He still never told her about the baby he had had with Ariadne, though. When their baby boy was born, James was thinking about Ariadne, where she was, how the baby was.

"What do you want to call him?" Lily asked, holding the baby up for James to witness.

"Ari," James muttered.

"What's that?"

"Um, I said Harry. Let's call him Harry," James said quickly. Maybe sometime in the future he would seek out Ariadne and her baby, but not at that moment. That moment was only about Lily and young Harry Potter.

"I love it," said Lily with a smile.

-----

And thus marks the end of this story! I hope you all liked it, because I liked writing it. I honestly didn't make the Ari/Harry sounding the same connection until I started writing this chapter, then I thought I might as well put it in. I'm sorry if it seemed a bit rushed but it's the epilogue and I was only using it as a way of communicating what happened after Ariadne left Hogwarts. There was one thing I did want to stress, though, and that was Ariadne's reasons for leaving. She wasn't running away because she didn't want to see James anymore, she was making the decision to leave because she didn't want to stand in the way of the happiness James might have had with Lily. It was clear that James would not be happy with her and a baby, and she did want to keep the baby, so there wasn't really any solution where Ariadne could stay at Hogwarts and James would still be happy. Is this making sense? I hope it is. If there is any confusion drop me a line and I'll see if I can clear it up. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this, and watch this space for the sequel.

Want to know what happens in the sequel? Well, the gods had reviewed her case and decided to let her back into the heavens, but would not allow her to take her half-goddess daughter with her. Ariadne decides that her daughter, while being of age, is not mature enough or ready to tackle the world alone, so with the blessing of McGonagall, she brings her daughter to Grimmauld Place to live with the only family she has left - her half-brother, Harry Potter. So anyway, this causes problems when she falls for Harry's arch-enemy, Draco Malfoy…


End file.
